Business Practices in Small Firms in Developing Countries
This independent study uses the contents of ILO's Improve Your Business (IYB) training curriculum to measure whether improved business practices have an impact on enterprise performance in small enterprises. It is based on data of more than 10.000 SMEs in 6 countries. A key finding of the study is that improved management practices (as promoted by IYB training) have a significant impact on enterprise performance. However, the paper also finds that the typical duration and intensiveness of courses like IYB might be too short to sustain changes in business practices. A key question resulting out of this for management training programmes is: how to improve training, complementary measures and follow-up services to achieve and sustain a long-term change in business practices and thus in business performance and job creation?